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Amid the controversy surrounding the alleged property purchases linked to IAS Officer Shikhar Agrawal and his family, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has questioned the scale of the alleged acquisitions and demanded accountability from the state government.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has begun an investigation against IAS Agarwal, who has been placed on 'Awaiting Posting Orders' (APO) status amid controversy over alleged large-scale property acquisitions linked to him and his family. The Rajasthan Congress has termed the action inadequate and demanded an impartial probe. "After such a massive case, you buy property worth Rs 6 crore40 villas! Was this scheme created solely for Shikhar Agrawal? The Chief Minister must answer this," Gehlot said. He said the government had merely taken procedural steps. "You merely placed him under APO. You put him on APO, registered a case with the ACB, and were generous enough to grant immediate permission," he said. Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra targeted Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, noting that the officer held the post of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) to the CM in the Chief Minister's Office. "When an officer holds the post of ACS to the CM in the CMO and such grave allegations against him become public, then the CM remaining silent and merely registering a PE is not sufficient," Dotasra said. He claimed that the inquiry will lead to a clean chit for the IAS Officer and the CM would use the administrative steps as evidence of the government's honesty. "Mark my words, save what I am saying today: in this probe, they will be given a clean chit and declared innocent. Then the Chief Minister will say in his speeches, 'We immediately placed them under APO, ordered an immediate inquiry, and nothing was found. Therefore, we are fiercely honest, and Congress people are utterly dishonest,'" he said. The controversy centres on the purchase of 40 villa cottages from a single company over two and a half years. IAS Officer Shikhar Agrawal's wife, IPS officer Prashakha Mathur, serving as Additional Director General of Police (Planning), has also been placed on APO by the state government. The Department of Personnel issued the orders. (ANI)
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